No More Bloodshed
by Grumpy Go-Lucky
Summary: My first story. Life after Ultimecia. That's basically it. Please read and review.
1. Life After Ultemecia

Final Fantasy--No more bloodshed  
  
Squall sighed as he leaned back in his chair, laying his pen down. The sunshine streaming through the window behind him and the shouts of his peers out in the quad were tempting, but he had to finish his report. Squall hated being the Commander of Balamb Garden. At first it had been OK; all he had had to do was plan battles, which was not very hard because fighting was what he did best, but that had soon changed. After Ultemecia's defeat he and the gang had been allowed a break but as soon as his leave was over it was back to work again. Normally Squall wouldn't mind having to work (it would be good to keep him occupied) but that was when work involved getting out in the field not sitting behind a desk bored out of his mind all day.   
  
The reason Squall was stuck doing such a boring job was simply that Cid Kramer was starting to struggle doing his own job, age it seemed was finally starting to catch up with him. When Cid had left to spend time with Edea things had been passed onto Squall without his say in the matter. Squall had put up with the job for a while thinking it was only until Cid came back, but nearly three weeks had passed with no word from Cid and Squall was beginning to get fed up. Filling out paper work was just not his thing (watching paint dry was probably more exciting). So he decided to confront Cid.  
  
Just then a bell rang signaling the end of lunch and interrupting his feeling sorry for himself. Squall stood up, grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and swept the remnants of his hurried lunch into the bin. Now that all of the students had started to head for lessons he would be able to have the training centre almost to himself, there were bound to be some classes using it. Squall swung his jacket over his shoulder and walked into the elevator pressing the button for the first floor. The lift beeped as it reached its destination and Squall stepped out. The corridors were empty apart from a group of four junior students. As they spotted Squall the four kids began to walk quickly in the other direction. Squall quickly caught up to them and asked,   
  
"Aren't you supposed to be in class?"   
  
The kids looked terrified of him and the looks on their faces caused a rare smile of amusement to creep onto Squall's face. Seeing the smile on his face the oldest boy plucked up the courage to speak,  
  
"We don't know where to go, sir." he spoke timidly.  
  
"What's your name?" Squall asked the boy.   
  
"Toby Watkins, Sir."  
  
"Which class are you supposed to be in Toby?" Squall asked kindly.  
  
"Magic, level one, Sir" Toby replied, "With instructor Trepe."  
  
"Well, come with me and I'll show you where you're meant to be." Squall told the four kids.  
  
Reluctantly, the kids followed at a distance.  
  
"I told you he wasn't mean." one of the two girls whispered.  
  
"Yeah but John said..." Toby trailed off.  
  
"Who's John?" Squall asked.  
  
"My big brother, Sir." Toby muttered.  
  
"And what did your brother say?  
  
"He said if you caught us out of class..." He hesitated, "he said you'd make us fight a grat for punishment." The words tumbled out of Toby's mouth.  
  
"Well that's one lesson learned isn't it, NEVER listen to older brothers, they're always tryng to scare you." Squall laughed, "And stop calling me 'sir', my name's Squall Leonhart."  
  
The kids really brightened up upon hearing Squall's last sentence and began to chat and ask questions freely.  
  
"Is it really true that you beat the sorceress, Sir?" Toby asked, then because of the look on Squall's face added, "I mean...Squall."  
  
"Yes," Squall said," But it's not like I did anything special... and I had my friends with me." He continued awkwardly.  
  
"Wow!"  
  
"Cool!"  
  
Squall stepped into the lift with the kids and told Toby to press the button for the 2nd floor. The lift ascended so quickly that only Squall was left standing, he laughed as he picked the kids up two at a time. The two girls were so surprised by Squall's strength that they nearly fell down again, they giggled and blushed and Squall felt the colour rising in his cheeks.  
  
When they reached the classroom Squall knocked three times and entered to see Quistis standing in front of about twenty kids who looked no older than 9 at the most. In her hand she held a small ball of fire. She smiled as she looked up at Squall and asked,   
  
"Yes, Commander?"  
  
Squall glared at her, she knew how he hated people calling him by his title and she grinned at him mischievously. "I have something that belongs to you," he said pulling the kids out from behind him with the same mischievous grin as Quistis. "I found them near the cafeteria."   
  
Quistis put out the fire by conjuring a water spell with her other hand and beckoned to the kids who shuffled past with their heads down.   
  
"You must be the new students from Dollet," she said, "Let me take your names and then you can go and sit at the table by the window together."  
  
Quistis took a register from below her desk and ticked off Toby Watkins, Aleesha Trik, Kayline Gomer and Martin Lewsh. Once the kids were sitting down Squall approached Quistis' desk.  
  
"Can I speak to you outside?" he asked her quietly.  
  
"Sure, just let me get this lot sorted," she said turning to the class, "I want you to copy the information on the different types of magic and their uses and write what you think the most important type of spell is. I'll be back in a minute."  
  
Squall and Quistis left and she shut the door behind them so they could have some privacy. She turned to Squall with a curious expression.  
  
"I called Cid and asked him to come and sort out the issue of who's meant to be ruling Garden. He'll be here at 1100 hours. I'd appreciate it if you could come to the meeting, I think I'll ask the rest of the guys too. I'm sick of doing his job. What do you think?" He asked.  
  
"I'll come although I'm not sure why you want me to." She said, puzzled, "What are you actually planning to achieve?"  
  
"I don't really know but I'm definitely telling him I can't do his job. Filling out paperwork just isn't my thing." He replied.  
  
Quistis sighed and turned back to her door. "I'll see you at 1100 hours." she said and returned to her class.   
  
Squall left the training center an hour later. He had wracked up 20 grats, a handful of buels, a couple of mesmerizes and a t-rexaur. He headed to the cafeteria in desperate need of food. As he entered, Zell waved to him from a nearby table. He was about to wave back when a blue blur jumped on him. Squall staggered and regained his footing as Rinoa wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him all over his face. He set her down, his face turning red at the stares of the passers by, and managed to stutter,  
  
"Hi."  
  
Behind Rinoa, Zell snorted, then, at the sight of Rinoa dragging Squall to their table, he burst out laughing. He was soon silenced by the glare Squall gave him.   
  
"Good training?" zell asked, nodding at Squall's bloodstained vest.  
  
"Yeah." was Squall's reply.  
  
"By the looks of it you must've slaughtered half of the training center's population!" Zell laughed.  
  
"Just about." Squall agreed, he then recounted all the monsters he had killed.  
  
"Woah!", Zell muttered when he had finished, "All that in one hour!"  
  
Squall nodded and stood up to go ger his food.  
  
"What do you want, man, I'll get it." Zell offered also getting out of his seat.  
  
"Lasagne," Squall said, looking at the board opposite the entrance, "And an orange juice."  
  
Zell went to get the food, not particularly bothered by Squall's lack of manners, but Rinoa was bothered.   
  
"Will you PLEASE stop saying only what's neccessary?" she pleaded  
  
Squall shrugged at Rinoa's question and examined a cut on the back of his hand. This annoyed Rinoa even more but she didn't say anything. Getting Squall to talk more was like trying to get blood out of a stone, he'd only talk when he wanted to. But Rinoa was confident he'd open up in his own time.  
  
"So how was your day?" She asked him.  
  
"Boring," Squall stated, "I'm going to quit. I called Cid, he'll be here at 11 o'clock tomorrow morning."  
  
"Why?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"So we can discuss who's going to take over permanantly. If I keep this job I'll go crazy." Squall answered.  
  
"Who will take over?"  
  
"I don't know, we'll have to find someone suitable."  
  
Just then, Zell came bouncing back with the food,  
  
"Lasagne and an orange juice." He said to Squall, plonking the tray down in front of him. Squall looked to see what Zell had got and, surprise, surprise it was laden with 5 hotdogs.  
  
"How can you eat those all the time?" He asked.  
  
"Easily!" Zell said, "And anyway, I only have hotdogs on Fridays now, I've cut back.  
  
It was Squall's turn to laugh. He shook his head in amazement.  
  
Rinoa raised her eyes pointedly at Squall indicating he should tell Zell about his plan. Squall shook his head, he just couldn't be bothered to explain again. Rinoa gave him a stern look and Squall rolled his eyes and took a deep breath.   
  
Zell watched all this with a bemused look on his face. Only Squall and Rinoa understood the looks they gave eachother. Squall began to explain what he planned to do. Zell was silent until Squall finished.  
  
"I'm with you whatever man." Zell told Squall.  
  
Squall was taken aback by Zell's show of loyalty. He found himself at a loss for a reply.   
  
"Thanks." He grunted  
  
Squall was sometimes frustrated by the way he found it hard to express his opinions. He was so used to not caring about others, blowing them off whenever they tried to get close to him or give him some help. But Squall was not so cruel that he would ignore the people he had been through so much with, the people who had helped him when he was ready to give in, had cared for him. Squall found it much easier to talk to his friends now. Friends. Something he could never remember having in his whole life. He had always been an outcast, he seemed to have the word tatooed to his forehead. The main reason was probably his lack of trust in other people. It had been so much easier to pretend he wasn't affected by the way people treated him and depending only on himself had its advantages. Squall was quite content to live his own life without others interfering in his business. If he accepted help he would be expected to return the favour and Squall hated having people relying on him, it was too easy to disappoint them.  
  
Squall was brought back to reality as Zell waved his hand in front of his face.  
  
"Earth to Squall, Earth to Squall." Zell laughed.   
  
Squall blinked and looked up at Zell a deep frown on his face. "What?" Squall's tone was harsher than he had meant. He mentally kicked himself but Zell saw the look on his face and understood. Squall just didn't like being interrupted when he was thinking.   
  
"Do you want to come to my place at the weekend?" Zell asked, a hopeful look on his face, "It's my mom's birthday, I thought you might like to come." He explained.  
  
Zell had obviously been discussing the matter with Rinoa while Squall had been off in his own little world. Rinoa gave Squall a significnt glance from behind Zell, who was mow standing up and bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet.   
  
"Sure." Squall said, in a faked cheerful tone. He didn't really want to go but he knew how much Zell cared for Mrs Dincht even if she wasn't his biological mother.  
  
"Yes!" Zell cried happily, "You'll love it my mom's cooking, her food is the best!" He bounded off out of the cafeteria narrowly avoiding a colision with Irvine and Selphie who were holding hands.  
  
Squall roled his eyes and greeted them with a grin as he noticed they had their hands locked together. Only yesterday Selphie had sworn never to talk to Irvine for the rest of her life because she had caught him eyeing amother cadet. Selphie tried to keep her promise but she was too nice a person to ignore anyone for more than a couple of hours at the most. The result was that her arguments with Irvine (which were rather frequent) always blew over quickly.  
  
"We just came to tell you we'll be at the meeting with Cid tomorrow." Selphie said with a kind smile.  
  
"Quistis told us," Irvine said "We saw her at the Quad a few minutes ago." He added at the confused look on Squall's face.  
  
"See ya!" Selphie said with a wink and she and Irvine departed. Squall watched in disbelief as Irvine put his arm around Selphie's waist then slowly slid his his arm down to butt. Rinoa tutted this behaviour was typical of Irvine and everyone wondered how Selphie put up with it. But no matter how much they seemed to hate each other Selphie and Irvine really were in love.  
  
Squall and Rinoa were left alone and a silence descended over the table. Squall opened his mouth to say something then shut it again because he had nothing in particular to say. Rinoa got up and sat down next to him. Squall tensed slightly as she cuddled up to him but he soon relaxed. Rinoa rested her head on Squall's chest and he put an arm round her shoulder. Rinoa felt comfortable just being close to Squall and was surprised at him allowing her to be so close in public. Normally Squall was only like this in when they were completely alone but it seemed he was finally getting used to being with someone else.   
  
Squall's thoughts drifted to their first meeting when he had wanted to be alone and be with her at the same time. When Rinoa had approached him he had been totally captivated by her beauty and grace. She asked him to dance he had ignored her then, when she persisted he lied and said he couldn't dance so that he wouln't have to. Rinoa had dragged him to the floor anyway and although he could have easily stayed where he was, leaning on his wall but he thought it would have been mean. So Squall had allowed himself to be dragged on to the dancefloor where he had danced as bad as he could to try and get it over with as quickly as possible. But Rinoa had known what he was upto all along. Squall had bumped into her and other dancers and tried to leave the floor many times but she kept dragging him back.   
  
As the tune became faster Rinoa whispered into his ear,"I know you can do better than this." She had a knowing grin on her face as she said this.   
  
Squall realised she had figured him out and gave up his charade. He took her hand in a firm grip and assumed the correct stance. He started to dance without even thinking about it lost in the music and the beautiful girl in front of him. They broke apart and danced in a circle facing each other then turning away. They met and Squall twirled the girl away from him then back. Again she twirled then came back to him perfectly. Squall was distracted by a sudden burst of colour as many great fireworks exploded overhead and forgot his uneasy feeling at the girl in his arms. The girl watched his face with interest as he looked up at the beautiful display of colour and light. Then she spotted someone over his shoulder and hurried away towards them leaving Squall alone on the dancefloor. Squall was surprised by his dissappointment that she had left so quickly. This was stupid. Minutes ago he had wanted to be left alone and had tried to ignore her and now he wanted to be with her again.   
  
Once again Squall's thoughts were interupted but this time it was in a pleasant way. Rinoa put her hand on the side of his face and kissed him gently on the lips. "What are you thinking?" she asked.  
  
"I'm thinking about when we first met... Why'd you pick me to dance with when there was a whole room full of people?"  
  
Rinoa paused for a minute to think before she answered. "You looked lonely.." She said, "And like I said you were the best looking guy there."  
  
Squall shrugged at the answer, slightly dissappointed that Rinoa had only danced with him out of pity. He shook himself mentally. 'If she just pitied you she wouldn't still be with you stupid.' A voice in his head told him. 'Anyway she just complimented you; say something back.'  
  
"You were the most beautiful girl there." He said, "But then again, you're the most beautiful girl in most places."  
  
Rinoa grinned and blushed slightly at Squall's compliment. "Aww, you are SO sweeeet." Before Squall could react she had grabbed his face with both hands and was giving him a passionate kiss. Squall was stunned for a moment but then he returned the kiss. Rinoa broke away breathlessly and stood up. "I need to be in the infirmary," she said, "Doctor Kadowaki's expecting me."  
  
"I'll walk you." Squall offered.  
  
"OK." Rinoa replied, grabbing Squall's hand.   
  
The couple left together with many jealous people watching. Most of the girls in Garden wished they were in Rinoa's shoes; they would love to go out with Squall. Most of the boys in Garden wished they were in Squall's shoes; they would love to go out with Rinoa. The kiss the two had just shared was more than enough to make many other cadets and SeeDs sulk for the day.   
  
Squall walked Rinoa to the infirmary for her lesson with Doctor Kadowaki; she was learning medicine and if she got good enough she would be able to be her assistant. Rinoa said goodbye to him with a kiss on the cheek.  
  
Squall had nothing better to do so he decided to go back to the training center before going to bed. 


	2. The Meeting

Chapter 2-The Meeting  
  
Squall woke early the next morning so he decided to go for a run before breakfast. He got up, dressed in a pair of black tracksuit bottoms and a grey hoody, collected his gunblade and left.  
  
Although he was only going for a run, Squall knew better than to leave Garden without a weapon; many unarmed students had been savaged by monsters whilst out on the Alcould Plains.  
  
Squall did not meet many obstacles as he ran through the cold forest near the Fire Cavern. This was probably because it was so early none of the monsters were awake yet. He met his first real challenge as he jogged past a small rocky outcrop near the outskirts of the forest. It seemed he had stumbled across a t-rexaur's nest. The beast was still asleep so he crept past it and continued on his way.   
  
After a few more minutes Squall stopped in a clearing to rest and leant against the trunk of a large oak tree. This annoyed a couple of red bats that were roosting in a small cave-like hollow underneath the tree's immense roots. The startled creatures took to the air, screeching and trying to fly at Squall. They swooped low over his head but when they did Squall slashed out at them quickly. The bats were no more than a nuisance to him.   
  
Squall was just about to turn home when there was a loud crashing sound behind him and the t-rexaur he had passed earlier came charging through the trees. It let loose an ear-splitting roar and launched itself at Squall, who quickly dodged to the side and out of range of its tail. He suddenly noticed how much bigger it looked now it was standing up.   
  
By the time the beast was ready to attack again Squall had drawn his gunblade and was in a position where he could quickly move out of its way in any direction. T-rexaurs were amongst Squall's least favourite monsters and ranked fairly high on his 'Pain in the Backside' list; at the front a huge mouth containing hundreds of dagger-like teeth, at the back a long whip-like tail which could kill an adult with one blow.   
  
When the beast next attacked, Squall was ready for it. It lowered its head and charged. Squall waited until the last minute to make his move. He jumped into the air and pushing off the top of its head with his feet, vaulted right over it. As soon as he landed he spun round and attacked the t-rexaur from behind, aiming to disable the tail. Just as he was about to deliver the blow that would sever the tail completely, it flicked its tail around and hit him in his left shoulder. Squall abandoned his attack as he felt blood seeping from the wounded area; the tails of t-rexaurs had extremely sharp edges. The wound stung but Squall didn't think it was serious and it certainly didn't stop him from fighting, it just made him angry. Squall's anger was a dangerous thing as the monster was about to find out.  
  
Squall could feel the blood coursing through his veins. He could hear it in his ears. His grip tightened on his gunblade and he felt a sudden surge of energy as Lionheart began to glow brightly. He ran at the t-rexaur and began slashing at every part of it he could get at. The beast tried to turn and run but Squall leapt on its back. It turned its head snapping at Squall as it ran, but it couldn't quite reach him. It took its eyes off the path in front of it for too long and crashed headlong into a tree, hurling Squall high into the air to land in a bush many metres away.  
  
Squall was dizzy from his fall but his strict training told him to get back up again. He scrambled out of the bush clumsily and began to search for his foe. He found the t-rexaur lying on the floor between two trees, struggling to get up. It was a sad sight, the most powerful predator for thousands of years unable to stand. It seemed it had come off worse in the collision, its leg was bleeding heavily and the bone was sticking out. Squall couldn't leave it like this; it would be torn apart by scavengers. He shifted his gunblade into an overhand grip and brought it back above his head. The creature moaned softly as if it knew what was coming and closed its eyes. In one swift moment Squall stabbed Lionheart down into the back of its head, killing it instantly.   
  
Squall turned around and, sheathing his gunblade started to run back to Garden.  
  
It was 8:00 by the time Squall got back to Garden. He headed straight to the cafeteria for breakfast, not bothering to change. He queued up for cereal and toast then found an empty table in a corner. He had just finished his toast and was about to start on the toast when Rinoa sat down opposite him.  
  
"Hi," she said, "Where were you, I looked all over the place?" She sounded worried and pleased to see him at the same time.  
  
"Morning," Squall said, "I just got back – I went for a run."  
  
"You could have told me before you went."   
  
"I didn't think you'd like to be woken up at 5:00am." Squall replied.  
  
"You were up that early?" Rinoa was shocked – she usually found it hard enough to get up in time for classes. Today she just happened to be up early.  
  
"We're not all so fond of a warm bed, you know Rinoa." Squall said this because he knew it would annoy her – she hated to be called lazy.  
  
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Rinoa asked, a touch of threat in her voice.  
  
"Nothing," Squall said quickly, "I just mean you're not used to getting up as early as us."   
  
"Yeah right, it's not my fault I like sleep." Rinoa said defensively.  
  
Squall thought this was a bit of an understatement. Rinoa was late for nearly every lesson but she'd get used to Garden's timetable after a while. He decided to change the subject before they ended up in an argument.  
  
"So, how did med go yesterday?" He asked.  
  
"OK." Rinoa said with a sigh.  
  
"It doesn't sound like it was OK." Squall prompted her to carry on.  
  
"It's just so much easier with magic." She said, "I know I have to learn what to do in case I run out of magic, but I haven't had the chance to use any at all.  
  
"Just talk to Doctor Kadowaki about it." Squall suggested.   
  
"I don't know, it seems like a lot of people are reluctant to let me use magic." Rinoa sounded sad as she said this.  
  
"Well that's something that'll have to be discussed when Cid gets here." Squall comforted, "Come here."  
  
Rinoa got up and went to Squall's open arms, bringing her feet up and snuggling down in his embrace. She loved just being close to Squall, she loved his smell and the warmth of his body. Squall stroked the top of her head with his free hand and leant down to kiss her on the forehead. He knew things were tough for her just lately – everyone had now found out that she was a sorceress and many people were less than comfortable with it. Some people avoided her, some were in different and many pitied her. Rinoa did not want to be feared or pitied, she just wanted to lead a normal life. It was hard to live like this for a person who was so lively and always in the middle of things.  
  
Eventually, to Rinoa's disappointment Squall shifted and got up. Rinoa made a small noise of protest.  
  
"Where are you going?" she asked.  
  
"I need to go get a shower." He answered, "Do you want to come to my dorm for a bit?"  
  
Rinoa was taken aback by Squall's invitation but she nodded and got up. Squall grabbed her hand as she came nearer and they made their way back to his dorm.  
  
When they got there Squall took out his key card and swiped it through the reader on the door. He pushed the door open and the two of them stepped inside. Rinoa had very rarely been in Squall's room before – only once or twice when they had returned to Garden after escaping from the D-District prison. This was a topic that no one talked about, not wanting to remind Squall of his ordeal. Apart from that there was only one other thing no one discussed around Squall.  
  
Everyone knew that Squall had had a rough time when they had defeated Ultemecia and gone through time compression. Squall had almost been forgotten because everyone had more important things to think about than him. He had been transported to a barren landscape completely empty of life. Not knowing where he was he had just walked hoping to find some way back home. He had walked until he couldn't walk any more and collapsed hopelessly. Images flashed before his eyes mostly containing Rinoa, although there were some strange things that he didn't really understand. If it wasn't for the hints Kiros and Ward had been dropping he still wouldn't understand now.   
  
Squall had seen Laguna Loire standing in a meadow in the starlight. He had been with a woman who Squall recognised from the dream state he had entered many times as a result of Elone's power. The woman was Raine, Squall had seen her when he had witnessed Elone's childhood. Laguna had put a ring on her finger in the vision. Squall had guessed by then that Laguna was his father so Raine must have been his mother. Squall was confused and he felt strange knowing who his parents were.  
  
The visions Squall had seen of Rinoa had all been painful. In every one she was walking towards him but whenever she got near the vision would rewind and she would again be far away from him. The last vision had been of Rinoa floating in space but Squall couldn't get to her. He was still trying to figure out what was going on and wondering if he had finally lost his sanity when suddenly the image changed. The glass in Rinoa's helmet shattered abruptly causing a single tear to roll down Squall's cheek. He couldn't remember ever crying in his life before that moment and the emotion was almost frightening to him.  
  
Squall gave up hope of ever getting out of the prison-like place and the last of his strength left him.   
  
Rinoa found him. She had remembered him unlike the others and stepped into the world he was trapped in to search for him. She found him in an awful state – he appeared to be dead but somehow they had both made it home alright. Rinoa didn't know how but they were transported to the flower field behind the orphanage and Squall's seemingly lifeless body had stirred, a ragged breath shaking his chest. Rinoa had never been so happy in her whole life.  
  
Squall showered and changed into a white shirt and a pair of black trousers. He had time to kill so he sat down on the edge of his bed and was soon deep in thought. Rinoa lay down on the bed and rested her head on his lap while he stroked her hair. They stayed like this for an hour discussing their problems and planning what to say to Cid.  
  
It was 11:15 and the five SeeDs and Rinoa were gathered in the third floor office and were growing impatient. Trust Cid to be late for the only meeting in a month. Squall was trying to control his temper but wasn't really succeeding. He was pacing up and down, throwing an icy glare at the office door every now and then. Zell was performing his usual little shadow boxing routine in a corner, Selphie and Irvine were chatting in another, Rinoa was watching Squall's pacing and Quistis was sitting in one of the many chairs around the large desk in the middle of the room. The chairs were positioned in this way so that no one felt inferior - Squall thought it would seem arrogant to be seated behind the desk with Cid in one of the visitors' chairs, like he had already taken over the Garden.   
  
The lift beeped and everyone stopped what they were doing. The door to the office opened and there was Cid. He looked different somehow, older and more like a normal person. He'd lost the headmaster type presence he used to have. Usually when he walked into a room he received a certain respect, he still did but the SeeDs thought of him differently now. Cid smiled at them nervously when none of them said anything or showed any signs of welcome. They realised they had been rude and all rushed to greet him. All six of them saluted then went to talk to him one at a time, enquiring about his trip and asking whether he was in good health.  
  
When all the socialising was over with everyone sat down around the table. Squall was the first to speak.  
  
"You know why we asked you to come Sir? To discuss Balamb Garden's management." He asked.  
  
"Yes, of course" Cid said, "Let's get down to business.  
  
"Well, first of all we'd all like to know whether or not you are still in charge." Squall said. The nods from his friends showed that this was what they all wanted to know.   
  
"Yes I am but I don't plan to be for much longer. If I can find someone to take over I will quit right away."  
  
"Have you any idea who that someone is going to be?" Squall asked.  
  
"Well if you agree I would like it to be you Squall." Cid had an expactant smile on his face.   
  
Cid's answer left Squall shocked; it was such a big responsibility. The old frown returned to Squall's face. Many people would jump at the chance to be the ruler of the most powerful military academy in the world but if he accepted it, all of the years Squall had spent training in order to become a SeeD would have been for nothing. Squall wasn't willing to give up his life as a mercenary for a boring desk job.  
  
"No." Squall answered. The smile faded from Cid's face.  
  
"No? Why not?" He asked, confused.   
  
"Because I want to be out in the field not doing a desk job. I was willing to be the Commander because I still did a job that had something to do with battle but I draw the line there." Squall explained.  
  
"But I can't think of anyone else suitable for the job, everyone here is busy."  
  
"My answer is no." Squall was firm this time; he wasn't going to let Cid talk him in to this.  
  
There was an uneasy silence in the room while everybody thought of the available options. Quistis broke the silence.  
  
"What if Squall could stay in his position as Commander and someone else could take care of the administrative side of things?" Quistis' idea was clever but there was one problem.  
  
"Who could fil that post?" Cid asked, "We might have a hard time finding someone for the job."  
  
"I was thinking I could do it." Quistis said quietly, "I'm not too busy with my teaching."  
  
"Hmmm...If you two feel comfortable with it...I think that it's a good idea" Cid said.  
  
Squall nodded his approval.  
  
"It's settled then. Squall you will remain in your position as Balamb Garden's Military Commander and Quistis shall be in charge of recruiting new cadets and handling calls from clients. Umm we'll have to think up a title for you." Cid added with a grin on his face.  
  
Both Quistis and Squall shook hands with Cid who stood up to leave.   
  
"Sir, do you need to leave now or would you like to stay the night? We have some spare dorm rooms available." Squall offered.  
  
"Yes, why not? It is not urgent that I return home." Cid said, "I shall take you up on your offer." He decided.  
  
"I'll show you to your room." Squall said.  
  
"Thank you. Now we'll be able to arrange things properly before I leave."  
  
Everyone left the office.   
  
A/N: I'd like to thank the 2 people who reveiwed my first chapter.   
  
Moogle-mog-mistress: Thanks for the encouragement and for reassuring me that I am not poo at writing. (Thanks Faye)  
  
Dragons Fly2: How'd you like the 2nd chapter.  
  
Please continue to review. 


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